Rebecca Watson on Double Feature

The latest Double Feature episode, Hard Rock Zombies + Loose Change, is the first to feature a guest co-host rather than an interview. This time we talked to Rebecca Watson, pictured here in the Skepchick nude pin-up calendar. You can listen to the show at the Double Feature website

Rebecca is the founder of Skipchick.org, a permanent co-host of The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, and creator of about a billion other things. When faced with the option of interviewing Dylan Avery for his 9/11 conspiracy “documentary” Loose Change, we decided instead to have Rebecca on for that entire section of the show. It didn’t fit format at all, but it sounded like a lot of fun.

It’s strange, of all the people we talked to on the show I was the most nervous to talk to Rebecca. Her show (along with others like Skeptically) provided the original inspiration to start podcasting in the first place. Now our tiny little show was featuring one of the most successful hosts out there, and something about that freaked me out. It tuned out to be a fantastic time though. I think it’s one of the best shows we’ve done. It’s entertaining, the sound quality is way better than any of our usual guests, and we tore Loose Change apart.

I’ve been getting emails from people who just found Double Feature and are really into it. That’s always great to hear. On the surface it’s a simple movie podcast, but I’ve always tried to inject more important things into it. The documentaries are the most obvious examples, but even just in analysis of two given films.

Because Michael and I are both atheists and skeptics, everything we do has that kind of bent to some degree. For me it’s the need to call out all the nonsense in a film. Michael on the other hand…look at his film selections. For a show with so many horror films, you’ll notice that the supernatural ones are really absent. Instead, movies like Hatchet, Hostel – even most of the slasher films – they’re are about the human element. They’re about building a scare upon something unlikely but plausible in real life. I think in that way the show not only promotes skepticism but kind of celebrates what’s real.

The other part of the feedback is that everyone wants to hear Rebecca on the show again. We’re going to finish out this year/season/52 shows and see about the next 52, so you’ll have to wait and see.